


Can Love Bloom? Even on a School Field?

by Le_petit_pauvre (orphan_account)



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Cute Kids, F/M, Family Fluff, First Crush, First Meetings, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Hospital Setting, Post-Canon, post-MGS4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-24 00:35:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8349301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Le_petit_pauvre
Summary: While visiting his father in the hospital, John meets a kind Japanese girl in the hallway. They talk for a bit, and John starts to feel something for her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Confession:  
> I headcanon Rose (and subsequently, John) as French just so I can have her name translate to "Rosemary from the garden". Fite me.

Jack heard the door leading to his hospital room click at the turn of it's handle, and nearly leaped from his bed as a Pavlovian response.

He wasn't entirely sure who it was yet, but the prospect of seeing two of his favorite (really, only) visitors again ignited sparks in his brain that made him shoot up from his resting position. He barred himself for disappointment, thinking it might just be one of the nurses; but seeing Rose's warm, beautiful smile as she greeted him, and John's pure white hair blurred by motion as he barreled towards him put a delighted smile on his face.  

"Papa! Papa! I missed you so much," John exclaimed as he pulled Jack into an embrace and buried his face into the crook of his neck. 

"I missed you too, sweetie," his father replied warmly; tightening his grip on the child very slightly as a show of protection. 

"How've you been feeling, Jack?" Rose inquired as she put a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

"Much better, honestly," the blonde responded. 

"That's wonderful, honey," she said as she stroked his soft hair and gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

Jack gazed up at the beautiful creature standing before him; crafting love poems in his mind as he savored the blissful feeling of his muse's fingers intertwining with his silvery locks. His light trance was suddenly broken by the excited voice of his beloved son. 

"Papa, Papa! Mama got something nice for you," John said cheerfully as he wriggled out of Jack's arms and onto the bed next to him.

"She did?"

"Why yes, we got you something I'm sure you'll enjoy," Rose said as she reached into her bag and pulled out a small red box. 

Jack took the box from his wife and excitedly tugged at the thick, brown satin ribbon; revealing an assortment of strawberries coated with a hardened, mahogany liquid. 

"Ta da!" Exclaimed the white haired child like a magician at the end of his trick. 

"Oh, Rose! You got me chocolate covered strawberries? You just love to spoil me, don't you?" He said as he leaned in to give the brunette a good kiss on the cheek; erupting playful giggles from the receiver. 

"Hey Papa, you wanna know something?" 

"What do I wanna know, John?"

"Mama said that we should bring you something sweet like a cookie, but I told her cookies aren't healthy and that we should get you strawberries and dark chocolate because that's better for you," the young boy said triumphantly; proud that he was able to think of an acceptable sweet treat for his hospitalized father. 

"Aww, John... That's so nice of you," Jack said as he leaned down to give his son a smooch. 

"Thank you for being so considerate, hon."

"You're welcome, Papa!"

"So, how've you guys been? Anything interesting happen?" The older man asked in an attempt to strike up a conversation.

"Not much, honestly," Rose said, shifting in her seat a bit, "Two of my coworkers are getting married, and one is having a baby. Other than that, pretty typical." 

"That's pretty neat. I guess I don't have much to say either," he shrugged. 

He looked over at his son to ask if there was anything interesting from him, but he stopped short once he noticed he was staring down the box of strawberries on his lap. Amused at his apparent desire for them, Jack took one of the strawberries and offered it to him. 

John looked towards his mother to see if she was okay with him taking the fruit, to which she chuckled lightly and nodded; signaling to him that she was, indeed, okay with it. He grabbed the offered strawberry and felt the chocolate melt slightly against the heat of his fingertips; staining them. 

After taking off the green caps that vaguely reminded him of Rohan Kishibe, he bit into the delectable snack. The crunch of the hardened, slightly bitter chocolate was a delightful contrast to soft, juicy texture and natural sweetness of the strawberry. Unfortunately, bits of those wonderful flavors escaped John's mouth and stained his youthful cheeks with irregular brown blots. 

"It seems your face wanted some, too," Jack giggled. 

"Young man, you better go into the restroom and wash all that chocolate off your face," Rose said kindly, but with a certain motherly authoritarianism that let her child know that her words be heeded. 

"Okay, Mama," John acquiesced, "Papa, where's the restroom?" 

"Look to your right and you'll see a restroom sign down the hall; you can't miss it," Jack explained like a New Yorker giving directions to a clueless tourist. John, after a quick "thank you", headed out the door and started down the hall just as his father instructed him to. 

As he headed towards the labeled door, something caught his eye that made his cheeks gain a rosy tint; a girl of Asian decent about his age. A bright red bow sat atop her jet black, shoulder length hair, her dark blue dress with a white, rounded collar complimented the many shades of red present in her headband, knee high socks, and small purse. 

John swears he couldn't have imagined a more beautiful sight as he stood there mesmerized. His trance was broken once he saw the girl look towards him and let out a peal of laughter; then realizing he still has chocolate on his face and that he should wash it off quickly before further embarrassment. After cleaning his now tomato red face of the chocolate, he tried to walk back to his father's room, but he was stopped by a gentle tap on his shoulder


	2. Chapter 2

"K-konichiwa," the young girl stuttered shyly as the white haired boy turned around to meet the source of the tap

The blush on John's face returned when he noticed that it was the same girl he was staring creepily from across the hall just a few moments ago. 

"Hi there," he stuttered. "My name is Jean Baptiste."

The girl tilted her head slightly and lifted her eyebrow. This made John fearful. What if she doesn't speak any English? What if he introduced himself the wrong way and made himself look weird? The Japanese girl's expression and silence slowly ate at him. 

"Jean... Baptiste? That's a weird name," she said in a thick accent. 

"It's French..." the blonde explained, praying to god that the awkward air between them would dissipate. 

"French? Oh, I learned about the French in school! Napoleon was really cool."

"That's pretty neato," John said as he internally thanked the lord above for answering his prayer. 

"Ohayo, Jean," she giggled nervously, "l can call you Jean, yes?" 

"Of course. Most people call me John, but any nickname is okay by me."

"I see. Wata-I mean- My name is Fujiyama Setsuko. I'm from the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa," she said with a confidence not present in the rest of her speech. 

"Wow, that's a pretty name. Very fitting for such a lovely looking mademoiselle."

"Oh...um...T-thank you!" Setsuko blushed, "I-I'm glad you think that. You know, the American kids at my old school used to call me 'Fuji Apple' or 'Fiji Water'."

"Oh man... People always tell me 'Johnny B. Goode', like the song from 'Back To The Future'," he added; trying to keep the conversation going. 

"Back To The Future? What's that?" 

"It's an older movie that I watched with my parents in my dad's hospital room. He was in an accident," John said, omitting the fact that his father was a cyborg so he wouldn't have to explain. 

It's not that he was told not to or he felt embarrassed by it (far from it), it's just not something he felt needed to be said at that moment. It's quite an extraordinarily big thing to be in a hospital for, you see. 

"My momma is in hospital because she was in a accident too..." the black haired girl explained sadly, "A car accident." 

John took a moment to express his sympathy and show solidarity by placing a hand on her shoulder. 

"Can you tell me about that 'Back to the Future' movie?" Setsuko asked, trying to change the subject to something lighter. 

"Of course! Ok, so there's a grown up named Marty McFly and another grown up named Doc Brown," he began. Setsuko listened intently John explained the plot, careful to avoid spoiling it. 

"That movie sounds really cool! I'll watch it when I can!" Setsuko exclaimed once they finished discussing the plot of the film. 

"I think you should; it's really fun." 

The conversation then continued on and evolved from old movies to themselves; which is not unlike his parents first meeting, John noted. From there, John learned a few notable things about Setsuko; one of the most notable being that she and her family just moved to a house right next to his, and that they will be attending the same school. The both of them delighted in the fact that they will be able to speak to each other again.

"Mon Deiu, look at the time...," he said somberly as he looked up at the clock overhead. He had recently learned how to read analog clocks in school, and saw that 1, 2, 3, 4 minutes had passed since he left. His parents must be getting worried.  

"I'm sorry, Fujiyama. I have to leave, but I'll see you around!" 

"Ok, sayon-I mean- goodbye!"

"Bye-bye! It was fun talking to you!" 


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, John," Jack said as he heard the door click open to reveal his son. 

"Sorry I was gone a long time, a girl came up to me to say hello and we started talking and I lost track of time..." John admitted. 

Jack let out an "ooh" similar to the one a classroom of children would use at a child being sent to the principal, before proceeding to ask questions about the girl his son met in a tone not unlike that of a gossiping teen. 

"What was her name? What did she look like? What did you guys talk about? What school does she go to?" Things like that. And John answered all his father's questions honestly. 

"She seems like a really nice girl, this Setsuko," Jack commented. "You guys gonna date?"

John blushed furiously at the, admittedly very appealing, prospect of dating the Japanese girl. Images of him and Setsuko doing romantic stuff flooded his mind. 

"Jack, kids John's age shouldn't be dating," Rose said dryly. 

"Neither should they wield AK-47s, but did that stop me?" Jack responded. 

"...Fair enough."

"Y'know, maybe in the future we might start dating.... I hope so," John admitted shyly. 

The phrase "like father, like son" popped into the young boy's head. His parents both talked about old movies when they met, and now they are happily married... Are he and this Japanese girl now destined to have a life long partnership?

"Who knows, kiddo," Jack shrugged. 

After visiting hours were over, he bid farewell to his father with a chaste kiss. A glum, courteous but insincere smile fell over the faces of all the occupants of the room as Rose and John exited. 

In the car, John gazed out its window in deep contemplation. He began to lament how little he was able to speak with the girl, and fear that their relationship might sever down the line. But all that negativity was quickly dismissed by the hope that everything will go as he would like it to. 

"Mama," the boy spoke softly, "You're a psychologist, right?"

"Yes, sweetie. Why do you ask?" Rose inquired. 

"Um...do you know how boys should talk to girls?" 


End file.
